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Daily Business Report-Dec. 2, 2013

Elizabeth Smart has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children.

Elizabeth Smart Named Keynote Speaker

At Next Year’s San Diego Women’s Week

Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped in Utah as a teenager in 2002 and spent much of her captivity in Lakeside, will be the keynote speaker of next year’s San Diego Women’s Week, organizers announced Friday.

Tanya Brown

Patricia McArdle

Kim Coles

Mimi Kirk

The 26-year-old Smart will talk about how her faith helped her survive, how she found the strength to confront her captors at trial, and the secret to rebuilding her life, according to the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce, which conducts San Diego Women’s Week.

San Diego Women’s Week will be held March 17-21 at Harrah’s Rincon Events Center in Valley Center. It includes numerous events designed to empower and inspire women.

Smart was kidnapped at the age of 14, was held by a drifter and his wife for nine months before being freed by police near Sandy, Utah, in a case that received national attention.

Smart has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children, is a frequent public speaker and recently wrote a memoir about her ordeal.

Brian David Mitchell was convicted of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines for sex, and sentenced to life in prison in 2011.

Criminal proceedings against him were held up for years after he was declared mentally unfit to stand trial.

Mitchell’s wife, Wanda Barzee, previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

County Supervisors to Consider

2024 Olympics Exploratory Group

Olympics

The county Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution this week to back the efforts of a committee that’s exploring whether San Diego should bid for the 2024 Olympics, City News Service reports. A successful bid would bring the summer and paralympic games to San Diego in 11 years.

The idea of San Diego bidding for the Olympics has been floated occasionally over the years, and was picked up more recently by disgraced former Mayor Bob Filner, who championed a binational games hosted by San Diego and Tijuana.

The dual-host idea ran afoul of Olympic rules, so the exploratory committee — chaired by local business leader Vince Mudd — refocused on having the city of San Diego serve as the official host, with events spread throughout the region.

A letter that Supervisors Greg Cox and Dave Roberts sent to their board colleagues takes note of San Diego County’s “beautiful climate nearly year-round,” ethnic diversity, unique economy and successful hosting of previous major athletic events like Super Bowls and the U.S. Open.

“For all these reasons, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase our regional assets to the world by supporting the city of San Diego’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the supervisors wrote.

Ten cities — including San Diego — are expected to compete for the U.S. bid for the 2024 games, according to Mudd. Selection of the U.S. entrant is expected late next year.

Mexican Manufacturer Acquires Naviscan

OCEANSIDE — Naviscan, manufacturer of the Positron Emission Mammagraphy, has been acquired by CMR, a México based developer and manufacturer of Diagnostic Imaging Equipment. Manufacturing will remain in Oceanside.

CMR recently established a U.S.-based corporation, CMR Naviscan Corp., that will continue to develop and manufacture Naviscan’s molecular imaging technology. “In addition to sustaining this critical technology for breast cancer patients, we will be able to provide a more comprehensive product offering to our health care customers,” said Tonatiuh Monroy, director general of CMR. “We are committed to retaining the high level of product quality and customer service established by Naviscan.”

San Diego Hosts World Stem Cell Summit

San Diego will host the World Stem Cell Summit Wednesday through Friday at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The Genetics Policy Institute, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, Scripps Research Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have joined to offer the conference aimed at uniting the global stem cell community and accelerating cures.

The event is expected to attract more than 1,200 attendees from 40 nations. The conference will include an exhibition hall, country pavilions, specialized symposiums, networking receptions, the GPI Stem Cell Action Awards dinner and a “Conversation with Experts” networking luncheon, among other events.

Valle de Guadalupe

Baja Wineries Say New Law Allowing

Development Threatens Budding Industry

Winemakers in Baja California, Mexico are outraged by a recent change in land-use regulations that they say opens the main wine valley to urbanization, KPBS reports. The Valle de Guadalupe, just outside of Ensenada, has gained popularity in recent years as a producer of quality artisanal wines. It’s also become a low-key tourist destination for sipping, relaxing and eating at an increasing number of trendy farm-to-table restaurants serving “Baja Med” cuisine.

But Ensenada’s city council recently approved new zoning regulations that allow for more dense housing developments than currently allowed in the valley. Winemakers worry the change will open up the area to housing density and real estate speculation, and strain the already dwindling water supply. “We see it as a strong threat to the valley,” Natalie Badán, owner of Cavas del Mogor winery, in a phone interview. “The valley’s (rural) landscape is its principal value. It can’t have an urban landscape.”

The majority of winemakers in the Valle de Guadalupe had banded together to oppose the zoning change, which has been in the works for the past few months. The change was finally approved earlier this month in what winemakers say was an unannounced city council session, which might have been illegal.

Futuristic bridge would span parts of Balboa park in a proposal by NSAD students Joshua Larson and Edgar Rodriguez.

Student Exhibit Shows Different Visions for Balboa Park

Renderings developed by NewSchool of Architecture and Design students

will be featured at the San Diego Museum of Art as part of an exhibition about alternative visions for the city’s iconic Balboa Park. The Looking Towards 2015 exhibit, on display through Jan. 7, is prompted by public and private dialogues taking place in San Diego to address the future of Balboa Park, particularly in anticipation of the upcoming centennial celebration.

“Looking Towards 2015” demonstrates the opportunity for NSAD students to work on projects that are inspired by and directly relevant to the community around them. The student renderings were developed during a Spring 2013 design studio led by NSAD instructor Michael Stepner for students in the school’s Bachelor or Architecture program. The completed student renderings included in Looking Towards 2015 complement the exhibition’s display of the Balboa Park Centennial Gateway Competition by collectively featuring alternative visions for the park’s future from an architectural perspective.

“We are honored to share with the community these examples of architecture and design ideas for San Diego’s iconic Balboa Park through this high-profile exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art,” said Stepner. “At NewSchool of Architecture and Design we encourage students to find inspiration from the design challenges in our communities and to find architectural ideas and solutions that contribute to vigorous and relevant public discussions here in San Diego and beyond.”

San Diego serves as an urban laboratory for many student projects such as this one. In addition to the Balboa Park studio, another NSAD design studio created a book and video that highlight San Diego regional development proposals through a collaboration with the Bjarke Ingels Group. A team of recent NSAD graduates also raised more than $60,000 to develop their NSAD senior thesis proposal to revitalize urban vacant lots through “temporary architecture” in a part of San Diego’s East Village near the NSAD campus.

San Diego County Credit Union Unveils New Website

San Diego County Credit Union announced the launch of its new website (www.sdccu.com) featuring a new design that is easier to navigate, friendlier and compatible for customers using either a desktop, tablet or mobile device, including smartphones. “Our customers, in growing numbers, are connecting to us with Internet-enabled mobile and tablet devices, closing the gap with traditional desktop devices,” said President & CEO Teresa Halleck. “Our redesign reflects our ability to successfully meet the access needs of all our customers. Our goal for a successful web presence is to provide our customers with the critical, straightforward information they seek, resulting in a meaningful and satisfying user experience for all.”

SDCCU said its new website was redesigned to showcase content that can flow seamlessly for either desktop or mobile users. The design, said SDCCU, is creative, innovative and enhances visual engagement and interaction with users while promoting content presentation and functionality.

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Voice Your Opinion

We Want Your Opinions on San Diego’s Big Issues
In the coming months, Probosky Research (one of California’s leading opinion research firms) will continue its partnership with SD METRO to survey San Diego residents about topics of interest to our readers. We’d like to throw open the door for suggestions for topics. What do you want to know? What do you think you know, but aren’t sure? What are you certain you know, but want to prove it beyond doubt? Ideally, we’d like to see questions that have to do with public policy.
Some areas may include Mayor Filner’s first 100 days job performance, should the city be responsible for economic growth and the creation of new jobs, how important are infrastructure improvements to our daily lives (streets and bridges, etc.), how important is water independence, how satisfied are residents with public transit or how do city residents value Balboa Park and other open spaces? Do you believe the City Council should revive the Plaza de Panama plan for Balboa Park?
You can email Probolsky Research directly with your ideas: info@probolskyresearch.com